Chapter 5

                                    

                                          
Something was tickling Jack's nose. He was too tired to swat at it and too comfortable lying down in a soft bed. His mother must've cleaned the bedding, because he only smelled something akin to flowers and expensive soap.
His nose twitched again when something soft brushed over it, followed by a small sound. Confusion settled in and Jack slowly started to shake off the heavy sensation in his mind; they didn't have a pet so why was there something yelping inside his house?
A sharp burst of pain shot through his head and Jack groaned, pressing his hand against his forehead. The past few days rushed through his head; the fear of the villagers, his house burning down. Alone and scared in the woods, constantly looking out for that wolf-
The wolf! Werewolves!
Just as Jack's eyes popped open, he felt a pair of sharp little teeth around his nose. The boy nearly had to cross his eyes to look at the little pup, who was wagging its tail happily as he nibbled on Jack's skin.
"Ugh! What the?!" Jack scrambled backwards as the pup flopped down on the bed, drawing his attention to his surroundings.  The clay walls were smooth to the touch, painstakingly sanded down and painted in a creamy yellow, which contrasted nicely with the wooden framework.
He couldn't help but think that whoever lived here was rich or well-loved by their family. Everything, from the building down to the smallest decoration in the house seemed to be a work of art, something that was the product of someone's blood, sweat and tears.
"Woof!"
Jack stumbled back as the pup launched itself to his chest before he huffed out a breath as he landed back on the covers. Just as he was ready to catch the pup between his hands, it smoothly shifted until a young, naked boy sat on his chest.
Brown eyes blinked down at shocked blue ones before the boy smiled widely. He snuggled closer to Jack and grasped at his hair, "Is it really your own hair? Why is it white? Did you paint it? My hair is brown just like my moms and I know my daddy has black hair but I've never seen white hair before! Why were you sleeping?"
The boy turned his head slightly to look outside the window before shaking his brown curls and looked back at Jack, "It's way past morning now, you can't stay asleep all day mister."
Jack's mouth felt dry as he tried to swallow, his mind slowly clicking the pieces of the puzzle back to place. A werewolf had really flattened him yesterday and yes; the little boy bouncing on the bed beside him was a wolf too. Even with that tidbit information, he couldn't bring it up to fear the energetic boy.
The child's enthusiastic ramblings and questions flew over Jack's head as he stared down at the boy. It didn't seem to be dangerous at all. True, he had something that made Jack's stomach flutter with awareness of the predator that lurked inside the boy. The child even behaved like a young pup would, being overly curious and letting out small yips and whines when he found out he was being ignored.
Eventually the boy pouted and turned his back to Jack, crossing his little arms with a scowl. Jack couldn't help but chuckle slightly and poked at the boy's ribs, gaining a sharp giggle. The giggle quickly grew out into full-blown laughter as Jack quickly grasped the boy and tickled him mercilessly.
"Stop! Stop!" The boy laughed, kicking with his feet and flailing his arms until Jack relented with a grin, flicking his hair out of his face. His blue eyes glittered with happiness because for once, he had been able to interact with another human being without being looked at with disgust and repulsion.
As they both settled down, Jack's eyes roamed over the boy until they landed on a familiar and slightly dirty piece of red cloak. "So you're the pup that has been following me?"